In-Between Life and Death: Kenny's Story
by dmd86845
Summary: This story takes place just after Lee and the others leave Kenny for dead, thinking the horde has taken him. This is my take on what happened after Kenny left Savannah and the time in between season one and two form his point of view. Please R&R :)
1. Chapter 1

Note from the author: *****SPOILER ALERT*******This is my first The Walking Dead Game (TellTale Games) fanfiction and I chose to showcase my favorite character, Kenny. This story takes place just after Lee and the others leave Kenny for dead, thinking the horde has taken him. I personally am hoping for Kenny to return in subsequent episodes of Season 2, but only time will tell I suppose! The story deals with Kenny leaving Savannah and what happens in the months following. Some OCs will appear here. Thank you for reading.

)0(

Kenny looked to either side of the alleyway watching as the hordes of walkers from both sides closed in on him. Ben lay at his feet, blood pooling around him. He had once wished harm on this gangly awkward looking teen, but the truth was he could no longer hold a grudge.

"Please," Ben's voice was almost a whisper, "Please don't let me turn…"

Ben's back was broken, it had to be, he wasn't feeling any pain from the fall. Even if he could've been pulled off the metal rod that impaled him through the mid-section, he wouldn't be able to run. Running was something extremely important now, running was imperative. If you're paralyzed you can't run...

Kenny looked for a long moment into Ben's pathetic eyes. He could hear Lee's desperate cries just out of sight. Lee, his now closest friend, was desperately clawing the gate that Kenny had just locked. He couldn't worry about Lee right now, there were things to do and he was running short on time. Kenny's face distorted as he pulled the trigger releasing Ben from the horror of being turned and at the same moment using his last bullet. Kenny didn't hear Lee anymore, he had finally went back up to join Omid and Krista.

The walkers began to swarm, but curiously (and luckily, Kenny guessed) the walkers did not go for Kenny right away. Instead they knelt for the easier prey, Ben's still warm corpse. Kenny was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and ducked between the walking bags of flesh. He was almost home free when one of the stragglers caught hold of his t-shirt with it's boney hands.

"Auugh!" He cried out wriggling frantically out of his shirt.

Since Katjaa, Kenny took survival very seriously. Suicide was not something you did, especially not now. Duck, well that was unavoidable, but Katjaa could have stuck around. Kenny could hardly forgive her for what she had done, leaving him alone without her and without his boy. No, Kenny would not die if it was possible for him to live. With one last flop, like a fish on land, he got himself out of his shirt and ran for it. The walkers didn't follow, there was an easy meal waiting for them.

Kenny ran for a long time, and he ran far. He ran until he was on the outskirts of Savannah. The sun was already low in the sky and there was no walkers as far as he could see across the horizon. He sat on a boulder which was shaded by a large willow tree. He mopped his brow with the sleeve from his remaining long sleeve shirt, and let out the first real breath he had taken in days.

"Well Ken ol' boy, You're alive…" He said it aloud, mostly so he could hear a human voice, he wondered if he'd ever hear another one again.

His mind wandered to Lee and Clementine, he hoped that they were ok. He knew in his heart that, at least for the time being, both of them were probably alive.

"Lee, I-I'm sorry…" Kenny sputtered quietly.

What would become of his friends now? His hopes that Lee might somehow survive because his arm was removed had faded the paler and paler the man had become. His skin tone had almost the same hue as one of those _things_ the last time he had seen Lee. Still, Kenny knew that Lee was the only one who could save Clem. He had her trust, he was like a father to her. Kenny had always kind of kept his distance, but that didn't mean he wasn't fond of the girl. If he had been the praying type maybe he would have said a little something on their behalf right then, but he wasn't. _No one is anymore, _he reflected.

Kenny scratched his head, relieving the itch that comes from not washing your hair in weeks. He was surprised at how relaxed he felt now that he was outside the city, but he knew he couldn't let his guard down. That's how you get dead.

Slowly but surely Kenny pushed himself to his feet. He was not a young man anymore, but he wasn't so far gone he couldn't walk a little farther that day. He yawned, then he stretched, and then he began moving. He made his way somberly across the land, peppered here and there with a boarded up and no doubt vacant house. Savannah and all the area surrounding it was completely lost, the only one who might still be living there was Mollie, and in Kenny's humble opinion she was sort of crazy.

The vague thought that perhaps he should stay and look for Clementine nagged his brain for only a few moments before he dismissed it. Omid and Krista would probably care for her, better caretakers then he was prepared to be, that was for sure. He didn't want to see kids anymore, too many painful memories would've come up. For the time being he wanted to suppress thoughts of Duck all together, it just made him too sad.

Kenny made his way through a forested area and came upon the remnants of a country road. Empty cars stood, doors open, as if frozen in time. No bodies were around, just shreds of clothing stuck to dried blood. Scavenger's and walkers had taken any flesh or bones that had been there. Kenny knew there was little chance of anything being in those cars but he had to check anyway. One by one he searched and managed only to find a pocket knife and a single water bottle that had found refuge under someone's passenger seat. He pocketed the knife and unscrewed the top of the water bottle taking a long swig from it. Kenny let out a refreshed sigh and capped the bottle once again, slipping it into a pocket.

Kenny began walking again, he wanted to get as far away from Savannah as possible, he never wanted to see it again. Kenny yawned for the second time since he left Savannah, and suddenly realized just how tired he was. He was so tired that his body felt weaker with every step he took. It must have been all that running. All around him was the possibility of unseen dangers, but still he found himself fading out of consciousness his body moving robotically as if he was sleepwalking. He knew he was tired, but he knew that he couldn't stop moving. If he rested in the open there was a pretty big possibility of him not ever waking up again, at least not as the same human being he had been before.

The sun was starting to set now, and the dark was a mixed blessing. It was cooler at night so the walkers didn't move around as much or as fast as they did in the day. It didn't seem like the greatest option, but Kenny decided to himself that he would lock himself in the next empty car he saw and bed down for the night. His face distorted in a frown as he thought about waking up to walkers swarming the car, not exactly the most pleasant of wake up calls. Still, what choice did he have, he couldn't go on much longer.

Kenny had walked about another mile when he heard the sound of tires on blacktop. He froze in the growing darkness squinting his eyes to see if he could see what he heard coming down the roadway. Sure enough lights began to get bigger and bigger coming towards him._ Shit! _was all he could think in his current state of mind and he scrambled as fast as his weary body would allow off the road and into the brush at the shoulder. The car slowed and halted just a few feet away and idled there for several minutes. Kenny held his breath, suddenly wide awake but still weary as he had ever been. Finally the almost alien sound of a power window rolling down could be heard.

"Need a ride gramps?" A feminine but somewhat hoarse sounding voice cut through the darkness.

)o(

Well, that takes care of the hours after Kenny leaves the city. During this time Lee has passed away (I'll let you decide by what method on your own) and Clementine has met with Omid and Krista at the train. Kenny has met up with a mysterious stranger, will she end up ultimately helping Kenny or hurting him in the end? I hope to let you all know soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: So happy to get the reviews! Thanks very much! Here's the second part of the story, I hope you enjoy it!

)o(

"Need a ride gramps?"

_Gramps? _Kenny knew he was old but hardly the age of a normal grandfather. He was still practically holding his breath in the brush next to the shoulder. He couldn't properly see if anyone else was in the car in the darkness, and he wasn't going to get a bullet in the gut trying to find out.

As if reading his mind the car's overhead light came on, and a small round face peered out at him from the driver's seat. She was alone, and she could obviously see him sprawled almost comically on his stomach.

Kenny pushed himself to his feet, staring at her almost defiantly. She just sat grinning and holding onto the steering wheel. He took the moments of silence to study her fully. Her face was pale and her eyes were the same tired eyes that every survivor had these days. She was probably in her mid-twenties, she couldn't have been older than thirty. Her hair was dark brown and thick tied up into a heavy and messy looking bun at the top of her head. A worn looking pair of thick rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose as her wide eyes stared at him over the top of them. She looked somewhat healthy for someone who lived through the end of the world, which led Kenny to believe that she was somewhere where (at least for the time being) the survival methods were successful.

"So, you gonna just stand there glaring at me pops?" She had a bubbly quality to her voice, almost like she was happy.

"Who are you?" Kenny finally said, slowly, sounding out each syllable.

"Elana." She said simply, "You?"

Kenny hesitated a moment, but not feeling very threatened in the least he decided that it didn't much matter what he told her at this point. Quite honestly he really wanted to get in the car now and drive.

"Ken." He replied shortly.

"Ken? Like Ken and Barbie?" Elana chuckled at her not so very funny joke.

"Yea, like that. My friend's call me Kenny." Kenny forced a half smile.

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm not your friend so I should call you Ken?" She suddenly sounded serious, and it made Kenny a bit uneasy.

"I didn't…mean it like that…" He stammered, absently kneading his palms.

"Oh. Alright then." She nodded, as if in understanding, "Well Kenny, you might as well get in, I've decided that I am going to "rescue" you."

Kenny cracked a little genuine smile. He liked this girl for some reason he decided, though she was probably one of the weirdest people he had come across recently. He pulled the door handle out, and with it the door swung open with a squeal. He lowered himself into the seat in one fluid motion and closed the door behind him.

From somewhere in the distance Kenny could hear the faint moans and shuffling of walkers coming towards the car. It was always only a matter of time, and Kenny was glad to be in the safety of a car. The window rolled up next to him, and the car went gently into motion.

"Wouldn't be right to leave you there." She spoke, but it seemed like it was almost to herself.

"Not like you'd be the only one." Kenny leaned back tiredly on the seat, the cushion really felt amazing after all those hours escaping.

"Yea, but, I mean, I'm the one that drew the walkers here." She half frowned as she stared intently at the road ahead.

"You?" He asked unsure, he was pretty sure that most of the walkers around this area were drawn by the train that he and the other survivors in his group had taken to get to the city.

"Yea. The ones on that road followed me up from the Wallmart. I got a good haul though." She grinned with pride.

Kenny was taken aback for a moment, "You went alone?"

Elana nodded slowly, but didn't say anything more.

"Uh." Kenny didn't want to pry, but he was curious, "Are you all alone out here?"

Elana frowned running a hand through the hair on her scalp, she shook her head, "No, not alone. There's others with me but…"

The ride turned silent and Kenny just let it go, he knew when enough was enough. That was one of his good points, if you asked him. He closed his eyes letting himself finally relax into the seat full, he pulled his hat off and placed it in his lap.

"They aren't in any shape to go out right now." Abruptly the words came out of her mouth so that Kenny's eyes shot open.

"What's wrong with them?" Kenny asked getting a little nervous, if these people were sick he really didn't want to go be sick with them.

"They're…just sad." Elana replied.

"Sad?" Kenny asked, confused, "Aren't we all?"

Elana smiled a little, "Yea, but they're special…in a way."

Kenny didn't really know if he liked the sound of that, but since there was nothing else to be done for the moment he kept quiet. His heavy eyes shut again, and he sighed heavily.

"So, where are your people?" Elana's voice rose to his ears.

"Probably dead." Kenny didn't open his eyes, it was a half-truth anyway. Katjaa was dead, Duck was dead, Lee was dead and the left overs were people better off without him.

"Oh." She said as if reflecting, "Well that's sad."

"Yea. That's just the way it is." He replied.

"Sorry." She was quiet now but still audible.

"What for?" He opened one eye to watch her drive.

"Just, I know you've tired and I can see you've been through a lot." She replied, "And I keep bothering you."

It was strange to him that she would apologize for such a trivial thing, but he appreciated the sentiment, "You aren't bothering me."

"Thanks, but I know I am. I'll let you sleep till we get there."

Kenny nodded and let himself drift away into sleep, it felt good.

)o(

So Kenny and Elana are heading to where she and her party are living. Kenny isn't at all sure what to expect, but Elana seems trustworthy at least. In the next chapter Kenny meets up with her party and learns of their pasts. Will he open up to any of them about his?


End file.
